Significant under-use of genetic testing for inherited cancers puts health of entire families at risk

French researchers who carried out the first-ever national study of the take-up of genetic testing for BRCA1 and 2 and MMR (Lynch syndrome) mutations have found that, although there had been a steady increase in tests performed for the cancer-causing mutations BRCA1 and BRCA2, this was not the case with the MMR mutation, where the numbers undergoing the test are still tiny. Only a third of relatives of individuals with either mutation underwent genetic testing themselves.http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/O...